


A Smuggler And A Mantellian Gentleman

by missema



Category: Star Wars: The Old Republic
Genre: F/M, Galactic Republic, Nar Shaddaa, Ord Mantell, Smuggler story line, Taris
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-04
Updated: 2014-02-09
Packaged: 2017-12-07 10:25:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/747444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missema/pseuds/missema
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyrsalia wanted to nothing to do with the Republic or Empire - her goal was always a fat sack of credits and to see the stars.  When Skavak steals her ship on Ord Mantell, she's pulled into a battle she never wanted to be part of, and grudgingly serves the Republic.  But after a while, Kyrsalia finds that her crew and the people she serves aren't as bad as she had envisioned when she was determinedly staying away from the conflict.</p><p>Corso Riggs had already seen more than his fair share of war before he met Kyrsalia, but that didn't mean he'd hardened his heart.  When Kyrsalia lands in his dock and fate throws them together, he's captivated by her - even though she hadn't wanted to take sides in any war.  Together, they fight the good fight and find along the way that they fit.  But no road is smooth, especially in times of love and war.</p><p>Tags are evolving.  Expect drabbles and chapters mixed in as the story progresses.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introducing Kyrsalia

She was one hell of a pilot.

That was the first thing Corso Riggs ever actually knew about Kyrsalia, the Mirialan freighter captain that flew through all of the fighting to land on Ord Mantell. There wasn't a scratch on that ship and she'd dodged some serious firepower to land. When she stepped off the ship, he noticed that she was quite pretty with short black hair, a curvy figure, her face decorated with the tattoos her people used to celebrate landmarks in life, green skin. It wasn't foremost on his mind, seeing as how he was working, but Corso would had to been blind not to appreciate such a fine woman. He'd met Mirialans before, back before when he'd been in the peace brigade, and knew a bit about them.

Honestly, he wouldn't have thought twice about her if the separatists hadn't kept her from taking off and flying out of their little warzone. The war was what had brought her to his planet in the first place, and it seemed determined to keep her there. The seps started their firing and bombing again with vigor, taking over an air defense canon and making it impossible for her to take off. Kyrsalia took the news with an eye roll, promising to get back after she disabled some of their remote towers. After she set off, doing whatever she needed to do to get back to her ship and fly away, he regretted that he hadn't checked to see what color eyes she had. Eyes could make all the difference, the window to the soul, as it were.

But that scum Skavak betrayed them, taking off in her ship and laughing all the way, and Corso had the chance to study her more. He wasn't in much of a position to do more than that, since Skavak's friends had opened fire on him when he wasn't even expecting a bttle. Kyrsalia was rightly steamed at having her ship stolen, and she was prettier in her anger than a person ought to be. She helped him up, checking him for lasting injuries and looking concerned. It was then that he saw them, eyes that shifted between grey and violet, at that moment flashing hard with her rage, but he could just imagine them warm and laughing. She had the kind of eyes that made you instinctively trust, good eyes with just a hint of wicked mirth in them.

They reminded him of Ord Mantell, to be truthful. His home planet didn't have much in the way of blue skies, the bright lights of Nar Shaddaa or the refined urbanity of Corellia. Ord Mantell was made of fields and mountains, the fields filled with a straw color that made the ground look like gold with every sunset. The sky above had a greyish violet that he'd grown up on, that he loved. Her eyes were like his home - as comforting as it was unforgiving. She might not be Mantellian, but she had a piece of it with her, whether she recognized it or not.

The second thing he knew for certain about Kyrsalia was that she was trouble, and just the kind he liked. That blaster on her hip wasn't just for show - she'd saved his skin with it. He couldn't wait to see more of her, and he didn't doubt for a second that he would. They would likely be stuck together on Ord Mantell, trying to find out where Skavak went, but the prospect of keeping her around didn't bother Corso at all. So long as he could get Torchy back.

"I'll meet you at Fort Garnik." He said, once he got himself up again. It was going to take a while to walk off that blaster hit, but he'd been in worse shape. Kyrsalia though, didn't look like she was buying it. "I'll be fine, I promise. And I can't wait to help you catch that scum Skavak." He added.

At that, those pretty eyes darkened to a stormy grey-purple as she scowled, the same color as the sky after the rains came. "Count on it." She said, moving away from him. She gave him one last look before she took off, heading away from him. He was in pain, but that didn't stop him from watching her as she hustled out. 

#####

"Between the separatists and that backstabber Skavak, I am thoroughly ruined." Viidu moaned, opining the loss of the blasters in her ship. Somehow, she didn't think it was as bad as losing a whole ship, and said so. Kyrsalia never really mastered the art of keeping her mouth shut when she was angry, and this was the angriest she'd been in quite a while.

Once she did, she regretted it because it was clear that Viidu was just as scared and angry as she was. Apparently, there was more to this than just a load of guns and a civil war. Kyrsalia didn't know why she was even surprised that there was someone named Rogun the Butcher behind all of this. Viidu seemed decent enough, but how had she gotten herself into all of this mess? 

Still, Ord Mantell was where she was stuck until she found a way out between the separatists and Rogun the Butcher. It wasn't a bad little planet, but the fighting was devastating the farming world. There had to be a way to help the Republic and get her ship back.

This was exactly what she hadn't wanted. To get involved in Republic anything, to go up against the Empire. It was daunting enough flying through space, never knowing what conflict you might encounter on some back end world, and worse when you made an enemy of the Sith. It bothered her to be pulled into the middle of it all, but she was already there, and there wasn't a measure of prevention that would have stopped it from happening. Well, she could have stocked her ship with scary big mercs, wookiees and security droids so Skavak couldn't have stolen it, but if she had that kind of money, she wouldn't have been doing runs to Ord Mantell in the first place.

Even though a backwater farming world was the last place she wanted to be stuck, Kyrsalia had to admit there were compensations. Viidu had excellent taste in wine, and she hadn't missed Corso checking her out. She always had an eye out for attractive men, and he fit the bill, though he bordered on cute with that country accent. He was a little younger than she normally liked them, she didn't put him that far past twenty, but she always had a soft spot for the surprisingly sweet ones. 

She gave him a little smile on her way out and watched the surprise register on his face as he replied in kind. The moment passed too quickly, and she was out in the middle of Fort Garnik again on the hunt for something to placate Rogun the Butcher until she got her ship and his blasters back.


	2. Flashy

Viidu was putting that woman in danger, and she was ready to go along with it, not even knowing what she was getting herself into. He couldn't let her go out without helping her. Corso was sure that Kyrsalia knew how to protect herself without his help, but this just didn't feel right. The big boom run killed most of the people that tried to make it. He took out Flashy.

She probably wouldn't care about the specifics of his blaster, but he would tell her anyway. He wasn't just going to send her off with it on that deadly run without saying anything. Corso's hip felt almost incomplete without the weight of the heavy blaster resting on it, but it was better if Flashy went with the captain. He waited for her to come down stairs, hoping that she and Flashy would come back to him in one piece.

#####

He certainly was sweet, wasn't he? If she hadn't known better, Kyrsalia might have thought Corso was running for mayor - kissing babies, helping elderly citizens through the blockade and handing out guns. 

Corso was all earnest warnings and serious faces when Kyrsalia went down to talk to him. But she was grateful - this mess got more and more complicated with each passing second, and an extra gun was always welcome.

Kyrsalia said her goodbyes and made her way out of Fort Garnik once again, this time in the opposite direction of Mannet Point. It was a shame about the fighting, she could almost see this world as the pastoral paradise it was so often sold as. The amber grasses in the distance set against the purple grey of the sky. It was pretty. Not enough to keep her planetside for longer than necessary, but she could appreciate a nice view.

Admiring the view took a backseat as she took out the blaster Corso had given her. Flashy, he'd called it. He seemed to give all his weapons names, he'd mentioned a vibroblade that she couldn't recall the name of and the missing Torchy that Skavak ran off with. She didn't know if the practice was endearing or psychotic, but she was leaning towards the former. Kyrsalia would have smiled if she'd the time for it, but Flashy was needed to shoot a sep in the back as she made her way down the trail.

The draw from the blaster Corso gave her was as quick as he said, and she heard herself scream with wild laughter when she fired the first shot. Hair trigger was right! When Kyrsalia made it back to the bunker, she was sure going to thank Corso. She loved a man who knew his blasters, and this one was perfect.


	3. Sleeping

Kyrsalia wasn't used to not being in her own space. Her ship, her poor stolen ship was all her space, and this traveling with others was difficult to acclimatize to. She felt vulnerable in the shared space, even though she was far from it.

Sitting next to her was Corso, a sweet farm boy with deadly aim. Everyone kept calling Corso a kid, but she was shrewd enough to see what the country accent and goofy smile hid. He was a man determined not to lose himself to war, and that she could respect. Besides anyone that gave her a kick-ass blaster and promised to watch her back was aces in her book. He was frightfully young though, and she guessed he was at least five years younger than her twenty-eight standard galactic years. 

She slept on Corso on the transport, not necessarily her plan, but getting her ship stolen was tiring. It just happened that she needed the rest, and he was there. Without meaning to, Kyrsalia slumped over onto him, her left side up against his right, her head on his shoulder. Disoriented as she was when she woke up, it was oddly comforting to look up and see Corso next to her, his head tipped back as he rested against the seat. He wasn't sleeping, but it almost looked like he was.

"Welcome back, Captain." He said. She was beginning to like the country drawl of his words. It was certainly easier on the ears than being grunted at in Huttese, like the time she'd found true and lasting love of a limited duration in a cantina on Hutta.

"Guess I was more tired than I thought. Corso, I'm sorry about using you as a pillow." She said, sitting up properly and shifting in her seat so she wasn't leaning on him quite so much.

"Not a problem. You looked like you needed it, and I didn't have the heart to wake you. We're almost to the Republic Fleet." He informed her.

There was something suspect about the matter of fact way he said everything, that made her think there was more to it. Had she talked in her sleep? Mumbled something about her ship or killing Skavak? Maybe she'd snored a little, she was known to do that from time to time. But when she looked over he wasn't looking at her, but off into the distance.


	4. Flirt

Coruscant was vast, and Corso felt like a boy fresh off the transport again, gawking up at the buildings and senate tower. It was a beautiful planet, outlined in soft pinks and purples, filled with skyscrapers and promise. There wasn't a thing here that reminded him of home, and that was probably the best part about it. He didn't want to think about Ord at the moment, not with losing Viidu and Skavak's betrayal fresh in his mind.

Kyrsalia was almost familiar with the place, and he guessed she'd been here before, but it had been awhile. He didn't ask questions like that. If someone wanted to talk about their past, they would eventually. Besides, he hadn't exactly been forthcoming about the places he'd been to, what he'd seen. As much as he liked her, they didn't really know each other yet, although he was keen enough to get to know her. Things like that were best not rushed, at least, not from his experience.

He couldn't help but smile at her from time to time now. She'd slept on his shoulder on the transport, nestled into his side like she was his girl. He knew it was because she was worn out from everything, having her ship stolen and then trying to get off Ord Mantell, but he liked it. There was nothing in him that didn't like being there for her. Plus, she'd called him cute back at Viidu's.

When the two of them were stopped by a Senator's aide, Corso learned an important thing about Kyrsalia. She charmed her way in and out of talking to people. Batting those eyes, making a little quip here and there, smiling at the right times. The woman was a bona fide flirt, and he didn't doubt that she used it to every advantage. Heck, he almost felt sorry for that senator's aide, because right after they spoke, she completely forgot about him. If he hadn't been so elated, maybe he would have remembered more of what the man actually said to them.

He might have worried, but he knew one thing. All those other people weren't going to help her find her ship, and he was. When it came to the end, he'd still be fighting next to her unless she flat out asked him to leave, and he didn't see that coming anytime soon. They could smile at her all they wanted, cause he knew who'd be around later. Kyrsalia walked ahead of him, stopping just in front of the Senate Tower so that she was framed with it around her, like it was her shadow.

"Welcome to Coruscant, farm boy." She said, spreading her arms wide. Kyrsalia was smiling magnanimously at him, as if she'd conjured the whole planet just for him to visit. She was flirting with him again - just the way it should be.

"Glad to be here, Captain." Corso answered, back at her, and leaving part of the sentiment spoken only in his mind. What he really thought was "Glad to be here _with you_ , Captain."


	5. Darmas on Coruscant

So after all that chasing they did on Ord Mantell, they were came to Coruscant just to chase Skavak down again. Kyrsalia couldn't say she was pleased with this turn of events at all, but then again every thing had an upside. The trouble was, she was still trying to find the upside to this mess.

Darmas was as charming as he was smooth, and he could give Corellian Red some tips. She knew his type well. She should have - she'd met more than a few men like him and had tumbled with a few of them. There had been a time when she would have let his lines reel her in, but Kyrsalia just couldn't find the allure in the tired delivery. Darmas didn't seem right to her, but then again, no one was what they seemed on Coruscant. Still, it didn't hurt to flirt back at his obvious attempts, and beat him in a few games of sabacc. The offer to sleep with him was there, but Corso was looking at her with those big brown eyes, and any wavering from her first thought of "No way" fizzled before it manifested.

Pleasant as it would have been to keep bantering back and forth with the man, her focus was on getting her ship back and beating Skavak within an inch of his worthless life. She would do what she needed to achieve those ends - run errands for Senators and clean out the the Black Suns if need be. For her ship, and to save her life from Rogun the Butcher, she could do it whatever it took. All she needed was her blasters, a little direction, and a Mantellian boy she was growing increasingly fond of.

"I look forward to seeing you again, Captain. Just let me know if I can assist you in any way. I'm always more than willing to help." Darmas called after her as she and Corso made their way out of his private room.

"I just bet you are." Kyrsalia muttered under her breath.

"What's the matter, Captain? Don't like Darmas?" Corso asked. She got the feeling he was teasing her, but she was serious.

"I know the type too well." She said, after considering. "And while there's always more to them, it's usually never anything you want to find out. People seldom surprise you in the good way."

Corso stopped and put a hand on her shoulder. "Let's find your ship and get you back in the stars. This isn't the place for you." He said softly. She nodded in agreement. He was damn right about that.


	6. Before

Seemed like there was a man in every port just waiting for his captain to show up, so they could make a pass at her. Sometimes, just every once in a while, he knew it wore on her, because her smile would get harsh or she'd roll her eyes so only Corso could see. Most of the time, she gave as good as she got, and it got them what they wanted. Those guys were expecting something they'd never get, because they were stuck eating her dust as she sped away onto the next adventure, while he was by her side.

They were on Taris, taking a short break in the nearly deserted Republic cantina. There were a few locals, a handful of lonely soldiers drinking at the bar, keeping it from being too quiet. Kyrsalia had been introspective since Coruscant, and when he'd asked she said seeing Miel die took some of the shine away from getting her ship back. Combined with Skavak scampering away under the cover of Imperial fire, well, he could understand if she was a little more than down. They'd come out to keep her spirits up, but she hadn't moved from where she sat since they'd come in. He hadn't even been able to convince her to dance with him.

He did dance because once he got up, he was asked to and the Captain had nodded her approval when Corso'd glanced in her direction. A dark-haired woman danced with him, her body language practically shouting her intent at him. Kyrsalia seemed amused when he caught her eye, smirking as she drank placidly in a corner booth. Him and the Captain, they weren't there yet, but he wanted to be. In the past, he'd learned how to proposition women, how to read the signs that people threw out. That's why he knew Skavak was dangerous, because Corso never saw a single sign from him, not in all the time they worked for Viidu. But that's also why he cared for Kyrsalia so much, because underneath her patter of witticisms and sarcastic remarks, she was sweet. 

The woman dancing with him wasn't interested in showing him anything sweet. He'd done this before, on other worlds, with the Peace Brigade, and on Ord Mantell after he'd lost everything he came home to appreciate. There was a time when he was trying to quiet himself, to fill a part that was strangely vacant, and nothing eased the pain better than drinking and women. But that wasn't him at all. He could have a night, but would wake up feeling terrible and scummy. In his heart he'd always wanted more, but until he met Kyrsalia, he hadn't known another soul that he could see himself settling down with. 

After their dance, he smiled and let the woman down easy, and after another drink, took his captain's arm and led her back to the ship. She'd been putting them away quietly, and was wobbly in the cutest of ways when she stood up.

"Corso, Corso. My buddy from way back on Ord Mantell." She laughed, a soft giggle that descended into snorts rather quickly. "What would I do without you?" Kyrsalia asked, leaning up against him.

"I reckon you'd be alright, Captain."

"But I like you so much. And so," she slurred, drawing a line down his chest, "did that other lady you were dancing with. Didn't you like her?"

"Not enough." Corso replied. "Definitely not enough."

She tugged on his hair and called him cute when he put her to bed. It wasn't something he needed to do, she was fine on her own, but he'd wanted to see her smiling up at him. His body was frustrated from the flirty dance, and lesser men might have taken advantage of her and the lazy smile drink had put on her face, but he never would. Corso didn't want to be anything less than the gentleman he was raised to be, even if he faltered at times. So he tucked her in and told her he'd be there in the morning, when it counted for more.


	7. Risha and Taris

"Did you know that Taris is the biggest graveyard in the galaxy, Captain?" Risha's words echoed in her mind as Kyrsalia traversed across Taris in search of this lost vault. Mirialans were a very spiritual and sensitive people and this planet made fear and trepidation rise within her in equal measure. The longer she was planetside, the less she could ignore it.

At least when she was at the Republic base the feeling was lessened. Not gone, mind, but less. The soldiers here were protecting the people and in that endeavor, they were honest.

It seemed the tension of the Tarisians trying to make a go on the ruined planet once more came not from the people, but from the planet itself. More than once as she dosed herself with rakghoul vaccine and spoke with soldier, Kyrsalia wondered why they were working so hard. Perhaps it was a compulsion to overcompensate for the past, the tales of racism and classism so old that they predated the Sith bombardment. Whatever the reason was, she found herself admiring the staunch determination of the people, if not their planet.

Politicking had to be at the heart of resettling Taris, because there was no way anyone that visited this planet would declare it safe for civilians. The plates were moving, the rakghouls were infecting more and more people, the Empire was out in force. There were pirates and researchers aplenty, but also people that just wanted homes and weren't prepared for what the rakghouls and toxic surroundings could truly do. Medical research was still ongoing, but there were other plagues and sicknesses that stemmed from the destruction. There had to be more than Kyrsalia could see, some deeper reason the Republic wanted to be on Taris, because it seemed like the 'resettling' was a cover for something bigger, most likely salvage. Things the Republic wanted and the Empire didn't want them to get. Like as not, the Empire simply didn't want the Republic to reclaim anything they'd rightfully destroyed.

Whatever the real reason was, she would do her part to help. If people wanted to try and make a life on Taris, she wasn't going to stop them. There were worse places where Manadalorians lived to test their strength. At least these people weren't enslaved by the Empire, though they weren't exactly free of them either..

Corso was with her as she ran errands for Risha's contact, Beryl Thorne. Beryl seemed nice enough, but bore no love for Risha, though neither would elaborate on why. Poor Risha seemed to have that effect on more than few people, but Kyrsalia found her interesting. She had to be as young as Corso, but wore her world-weariness in a very different manner. Each time they talked, Risha's cynicism was made clearer. Kyrsalia had known people like Risha before. Smart and capable, they'd almost always had to protect themselves from a young age. Seemed like that could be Risha, but she never talked too much with anyone.

Still, Kyrsalia liked her, even more than she liked her plan to get rich by finding Nok Drayen's treasure. 

Kyrsalia had a nagging feeling that there was much more to Risha than she'd assumed upon meeting, but it was up to Risha to disclose it when she was ready. It was a wonder she even talked to Kyrsalia, after being on the ship with Skavak. She probably thought they were cut from the same cloth.

The sound of footsteps took Kyrsalia out of her thoughts and alerted her to Corso's return. Their bags had finally proved too much and he'd gone off to sell of the junk that lined the bottoms of them. The bags were lighter and they were a little bit richer when he returned. At least Taris was good for something.

"C'mon Captain, we should get a move on and check in with Risha." He hesitated, one hand going to the back of his neck as if he were trying to scratch it through his helm. "I don't like any of this, even if Beryl isn't one of the bad guys. There's too much going on here."

"I'm with you on that." Kyrsalia agreed. If Corso could feel it, then it wasn't just her imagination going wild. 

They needed to find this vault and get off this planet. With customs sniffing around her ship and Beryl's warehouse, that wouldn't be an easy feat. Kyrsalia was afraid that if she got back on her ship she wouldn't want to leave. Time and Skavak were both scheming against them, and she pushed on with reluctant feet hoping that Nok Drayen had a barge full of riches to make up for all of this work.


	8. Meeting Bowdaar

There was a wookiee fighting some Kaleesh warriors for Drooga the Hutt, and Kyrsalia simply wasn't going to stand for that. There was a lot of shit she loved about Nar Shaddaa that didn't fly on other worlds, but their casual attitude about slaves wasn't one of them.

Since she was a smuggler and often worked for the Hutts or people connected to them, Kyrsalia tried not to think too much about their society. Drooga made her want to rethink all of her dealings with them, but she had to be smart about business. Her personal feelings often got pushed to the side in order to complete a job. She did have standards though - no slaving and no work for Imperials. Luckily, that still left plenty of work to be had.

The way the galaxy treated wookiees broke her heart. They'd never really recovered from being enslaved by Czerka Corporation centuries ago. Like so many enslaved races, some Wookiees sold their own into slavery in order to maintain their own freedom. It was a sad, old tale that didn't have a happy ending. The slavery had ended, but only after too many were taken away and their social structure marred by the betrayals of their own. 

It pained Kyrsalia to think on it, it was a fate the Empire willingly assigned to so many, regardless of their species or heritage. Humans were enslaved alongside so many other, a multitude of galactic citizenry, confined to slave pens and adorned with shock collars.

Czerka was an Imperial company, though these days they weren't as strong as they'd once been.

But this wasn't about Czerka, Imperials or even the poor Wookiee stuck in the cage. This was her meeting with a stupid, slimy Hutt that had something Risha wanted and Kyrsalia needed.

Before she'd fly away from Nar Shaddaa, she was going to see to it that the Wookiee was freed, no matter what she needed to get from the Hutt. Unconsciously her hand slid to her blaster - she knew that Hutts didn't part with anything easy, and her charm probably wasn't going to work on Drooga, that pile of slime. Better to take care of her business first then dispose of Drooga if he opposed her.

Kyrsalia sighed heavily, motioning for Corso to come along as she took her leave of the pleasure barge. Part of her wished she was back on Coruscant already, and they hadn't even been gone that long.


End file.
